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Monday, October 7, 2013

Osombie: Only a Gimmick


It’s time again for monster movies in October. To be honest, I watch monster and horror movies all year, but in October I try to write a little bit about them.

First – I watched Osombie (2012) with absolutely no expectation that it would be any good.  It’s a B-grade movie and not much more.  The special effects rely entirely too much on CGI.  The script is full of clichés.  The narrative arc is pretty much a flat line.  The actors are competent (but not much more than that.)  But I hoped that it might be something more.

The story, such as it is, follows a team of U.S. Special Forces team –and a yoga instructor - as they tramp across Afghanistan looking for the yoga instructor’s missing, tinfoil-hat wearing brother and the elusive, zombified remains of the undead Osama bin Laden.  This is a story ripe for over-the-top violence, gory mayhem and thick political satire.  It’s an insane set up, and that insanity should have been exploited to the fullest.  

But the movie that director John Lyde released takes itself too seriously.  It plays out as a rather bland straight forward action / zombie movie that seems more interested in showing us how super cool American soldiers are as they shoot the undead, make snappy (sometimes) one-liners, wield samurai swords and repeatedly take off their shirts.

I wish that this movie had done more with its initial concept, but it remains only a gimmick – a device to attract attention and nothing more.  

Other Monster Movies in October this year:

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